An Introduction to Comics with Sofia Warren

This weekend workshop will introduce students to the form and vocabulary of comics. Short, in-class exercises will get us drawing straight away, and we’ll build off of what we’ve learned to generate longer-form work—one- to two-page pieces— by the end of the weekend. Students will leave the course with more confidence in their abilities to communicate graphically, and the tools to start creating comics on their own.

Course Outline

• Day 1:
  • Self-portrait draw and discussion (10 mins)
  • Introduction to comics (50 mins): A discussion about what constitutes a comic. Close reading and discussion of several short comics (Calvin and Hobbes; autobio pieces by Julia Wertz).
  • Monster exercise and discussion (50 mins): students will free-draw a monster, and then create a short comic, under a time constraint, about the monster. Work will be shared and discussed.
  • Timing in comics exercise (50 mins): we will discuss timing and pacing through an exercise in which students draw the same comic several times, with different aims.
• Day 2:
  • Self-portrait draw and discussion (10 mins)
  • Gesture drawing and discussion (30 mins): We’ll draw a series of short poses and discuss best practices for comics.
  • Comics exercise: food. (1 hr): Students will create a 1-page comic during class time. We’ll discuss a few in large group, then break into small groups for further discussion
  • Revision (45 mins): using notes from feedback in small groups, students will redraw their food comic and discuss again in small groups.
  • Discussion and conclusion (20 mins): We’ll recap what we’ve learned and talk about where to go next. Sofia will provide resources for continuing practice, and will set students up with the Daily Diary exercise. If time, we will begin the daily diary exercise in class.

Capacity: 20